Cotton harvesting machine



Sept. 22,` 1931. G. R. MEYERCORD ET Al. 1,824,223

GOTTON HRVESTNG MACHINE Filed Feb. 1s, 1929 15 Sheets-sheet 1 .l l l l l I |I Sept- 22, 1931- G. R. MEYERcoRD ET AL 1,824,223

COTTON HAR VESTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18, 1929 15 lSheets-Sheel 2 sept. 22, 1931. R MEYERCCQRD ET AL 1,824,223

COTTON HARVEST ING MACHINE 15 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 18. 1929 i-@ l l Sept. 22, 1931.

G. R. MEYERCORD ET Al. 1,824,223

COTTON HAHVESTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18, 1929 l5 Sheets-Sheet 4 LOI Sept. 22, 1931.

G. R. MEYERCORD ET AL COTTON HARVESTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18', 1929 IWW g l5 Sheets-Sheet 5 sept. 22, 1931.

G. R. MEYERcoRD ET Al. 1,824,223

COTTON HARVESTING MACHINE lFiled Feb. 18, 1929 l5 Sheets-Sheet 6 sept. 22, 1931.

G. R. MEYERCORD ET AL COTTON HARVESTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18. 1929 l5 Sheets-Sheet '7 1 wwe/g,

Sept. 22, 1931. G. R. MEYERCORD ET AL 1,824,223

COTTON HARVESTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18, 1929 l5 Sheets-Sheet 8 Sept. 22, 1931. G. R. MEYERCORD ET AL. 1,824,223

COTTON HARVESTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18, 1929 15, Sheets-Sheet 9 Sept. 22, 1931. G. R. MEYERcoRD ET AL 1,824,223

COTTON HARVESTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18. 1929 15 Sheets-Sheet l0 Sept. 22, 1931. G. R. MEYERCORD ET AL 1,824,223

COTTON HARVESTING MACHINE l5 Sheets-Sheet ll Filed Feb. 18, 1929 l E u l H.

juffen/7073*.' WA @f A 03% 734W@ Wfwm sep'1.22, 1931. GRMEYERCORD ETAL 1,824,223

COTTON HARVESTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18. 1929 l5 Sheets-Sheet l2 Sept. 22, 1931. G. R. MEYERCORD ET AL 1,824,223

COTTON HARVESTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18. 1929 l5 Sheets-Sheet 13 Sept. 22, 1931. G. R. MEYERCORD ET AL 1,824,223

COTTON HARVESTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18. 1929 l5 Sheets-Sheet 14 Sept. 22, 1931.

G. R. MEYERCORD ET AL 1,824,223

COTTON HARVESTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 18. 1929 l5 Sheets-Sheet 15 /A 11mm Patented Sept. 22, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE R. HEYERCORD, F CHCAGO, AND OLIN' H. BASQUIN, 0F EVANS'ON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNDRS T0 GEO.- B. MEYERCORD AND ASSOCIATES, A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS COTTON HARVESTING MACHIN E Appucamn med rebmuy 1s, 1929; serial No. a4o,sss.

The present invention has for its object to produce a simple machine of low weight that may be driven rapidly through a cotton field and effectively pick a large percentage of the cotton, comparatively free from foreign matterwithout injuring the cotton plants and without danger of getting lubricating oil on the cotton fibre.

In carrying out our invention we employ up vertical rotary drums having thereon picking elements rotatable about their own axes, first in one direction and then the other for picking and dolling, respectively. In carrying out this feature of our invention, we l5 employ stationary segments within the drums, which segments engage with the inner ends of the picker elements or parts associated therewith, so as to cause such elements to rotate first in one direction and then 2e in the other. Viewed in one of its aspects, the present invention may be said to have for its object to produce a simple and novelconstruction and arrangement that will insure the effective rotation of the picker units a5 without requiring expensive machine work and extreme accuracy in adjustment in the construction and assembly of the segments. It is desirable that the picker units project as little as may be from the drums so as .to 3a reduce the danger ofbending the elements or their immediate supports in service. Viewed in one of its aspects, the present invention may be said to have for its object to produce a simpleand novel cotton harvesting machine which will manipulate the cotton plants so as to bring the cotton bolls close to the drums so that picking devices projecting only a short distance from such surfaces will be brought into contact with the cotton.

For the purpose of carrying out this latter feature of our invention, means must be provided for lifting the lower limbs of the cotton plants and swinging these as well as the higher limbs toward a vertical plane extending longitudinally of the machine between the drums and from both sides of such plane. The simplest means for lifting the limbs and grouping them in a narrow place consists of stationary shoes high at their rear 5) ends and decreasing gradually in height and lmight gouge into the ground suiiciently at divergin from each other toward their front en s. However, the ground is uneven and pointed shoes of this type that extend down far enough to lift the lowermost limbs,

times to stop the machine. At any rate, the points of the shoes, if low enough to pass under the lowermost limbs, would plow through the dirt and, in the case of a wet field, would lift mud into contact with the cotton. Viewed in one of its aspects, the present invention may be said to have for its object to provide a simple means whereb the lowermost limbs will be effectively guid-7 ed into operative relation to lixed shoes independently-of the pointed front ends of the shoes; whereby the latter are left free to plow through dirt or mud, if necessary, without permitting the dirt or mud to come in contact with the cotton.

The picker units should be low enough to reach the lowermost bolls. However, where the cotton is discharged upon conveyors that carry it away, the lower ends of the drums must be high' enough up to permit the conveyors to lie at a lower level. A further object of the present invention is to produce a simple and novel conveyor system that will extend very little below the bottom of the drums; thus permitting the drums to be set low enough to reach the lowermost cotton.

Further objects of the present invention are to produce a simple and novel drum construction that will permit a group of picker units to be readily detached without disturbing the remainder of the mechanism and without affecting the relation of the units of that group with each other; and to produce a simple and novel self-contained picker unit including a bearing that requires no oil to lubricatc the same, which unit may easily be removed and replaced.

Further objects of the present invention are to provide a simple means for deilecting trash that would otherwise be carried by the drums to the conveyors to which the cotton is to be delivered; and means for automatically polishing the picking ends of the picker elements during the operation of the machine, whereby the cotton will freely leave the picker 10C elements when the latter are moved in the proper` direction to discharge the cotton.

The various features of novelty whereby our invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of oui invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine arranged in accordance with our invention, many of the parts lot required for an explanation of the invention being omitted; Fig. 2 is a rear view of the machine; Fig. 3 is a front view of the machine, parts being omitted and their locations being indicated by dotted lines; Fig. 4 is a section taken approximately on line 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a section through one of the lifters on line 6-6 of Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a section on an enlarged scale on line 7-7 of Fig. l Fig.y 8 is a top plan view of the rear portion of the machine on the same scale as Fig. 7; Figs. 9 and 10 are views, on a still larger scale, looking in opposite directions, respectively, from line 9 9 of Fig. 8; Fig. 11

is a` vertical section through one of the picker drums; Fig. 12 is a section on line 12-12 of Fig. 11; Fig. 13' is a view on a greatly enlarged scale, of the inner side o'f the lower ortion of one of the slabs composing the rums, fragments of the stationary driving segments being shown; Fig. 14 is a section taken approximately on line 14-14 of Fig. 13; Fig. 15 is a section taken approximately on line 1515 of Fig. 8, on a larger scale than Fig. 8; Fig. 16 is a section taken approximately on line 16-16 of Fig. 15; Fig. 17 is a section taken approximately on line 17-17 of Fig. 15; Fig. 18 is a section taken approximately on line 18-18 of Fig. 15; Figs. 19 and 2O are respectively longitudinal sections through one of the bearings for a conveyor driving shaft and for a conveyor idle shaft; Fig. 21 is a section showing a fragment of the drum and two adjacent picker elements Figs. 22 and 23 are plan views of corresponding driving pinions associatedv with the two drums, showing that they do not have the same number of teeth; Figs. 24 and 25 are views showin the inner side of the upper portion of a sla carrying a modified form of picker element, showing the means for rotating the latter in opposite directions; Fig. 26 is a section taken on line 26-26 of Fig. 24; Fig. 27 is a section, on an enlarged scale, on line 27-27 of Fig. 24: and Fig. 28 is a section on line 28-28 of Fig. 27.

Briefly stated, the machine illustrated in Y the drawings comprises an ordinary automobile chassis with the wheels dropped down and connected to each other and to the main frame by a framework that leaves a wide high passage extending through the longitudinal center of the structure. Therefore when the machine is driven through a field it will straddle a row of cotton plants. Projecting into this pasage, from opopsite sides thereof, are two vertical drums spaced only a short distance apart and driven in such direction that the points of the drums nearest each other will be travelling backward while the machine is moving forward. The drums are .provided with p1cker elements adapted to collect the cotton fibre from the plants, as the latter pass between the drums, and afterwards discharge the cotton into conveyor chambers at the sides of the machine outwardly from the drums. Suitable means are provided to lift the limbs of the cotton plants and guide them between the drums.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the elevated frame of the machine, 2, 2 the front wheels and 3, 3 the rear wheels. The front wheels are supported on the lower ends of the arms of a frame 4 in the form of an inverted U, while the rear wheels are supported by the lower ends of the arms of a U-shaped structure whose arms 5, 5 constitute conveyor chambers. The machine, as shown, has a rear wheel drive. The engine, not shown, is mounted in the hood above the front end of the upper frame 1. The drive shaft 7 of the engine extends to the rear of the machine to a differential axle 8. Suitable drive chains 9 extend down from the ends of the differential axle to thetwo rear wheels, these chains being enclosed by suitable housings 10.

The conveyor housings in their lower halves are open on the inner sides and, projecting partially into the open sides of the housings, are two vertical drums that may be indicated as a whole by A and B, respectively. These drums are spaced only a short distance apart.

It is necessary that the cotton plants be properly guided, and the lower limbs lifted, into the space between the drums, without inliury to the plants, as the machine is driven through the field. To this end we have provided two stationary shoes 11, 11 extending from the front end of the machine rearwardly into proximity with the drums. These shoes diverge gradually and decrease in height from their rearward toward their front ends. It is not practicable to bring the front ends of the shoes low enough to permit them to pass underneath low lying limbs of the cotton plants before the latter are reached by the front vehicle wheels, and therefore we provide the stationary shoes with extensions or auxiliary shoes. These auxiliary shoes are best shown in Figs. 1 and 3 to 5. As there shown, they may consist conveniently of light, comparatively wide flat members 12 each hinged at its rear end to one of the stationary shoes, as indicated at 13, and to one of the lower longitudinal frame members 14, as indicated at 15, so as to be capable of swingnadamas ing up and down. At the front end of each auiliary shoe is a suitable ground sup ort that may take the form of a roller or a w eel 16 or of a skid 17. The auxiliary shoes may 5, 'therefore swing up and down` in accordance with the configuration of the surface over which they are travelling; their front ends or noses therefore being always in posit-ion to pass underneath the lowermost limbs of a cotton plant. The auxiliary shoes are so shaped that their inner edges diverge rapidly toward their front ends, so as to provide a wide Haring mouth to guide the plants into the space between the stationary shoes which, w in turn, guide the plants into the space between the drums. As the machine travels past a plant, the latter is not only guided or centered with respect to the machine, but its limbs or branches are gradually lifted and 20 swung upwardly until all of them are ap' proximately upright when they reach the drums.

The details of the drums and of the picking elements thereon are best shown in Figs. 11

to 14. The two drums are similar that is, one may be called a right and the other a left, and

a description of one will suffice for both. De-

pending from afsuitable part of the elevated framework of the machine, in this instance, Se longitudinal beams 19, 19, are two stationary vertical shafts 20. 20, braced against swinging movements by brackets 21 extending from the lower framework. Each drum, as shown, comprises an upper circular head 22 and a lower circular head 23. These heads are connected together by a series of vertical slabs 24V placed edge to edge to form the cylindrical surface of the drum. In the arrangement shown, screws 25 pass through the heads into the ends of the slabs. Upon the removal of the screws going into a slab from `the top and the bottom, the slab may be removed without disturbing any other portion of the mechanism. In a sense, therefore, the upper and lower heads of the drum may be regarded'as a body or structure to which the slabs are attached. The shaft 20 extends down through both heads which are provided with suitable bearings 26 and 27 whereby the drum is rotatably supported on the shaft. The elements that form the bearings proper are made of some material that does not require oil, in the operation of the machine, to lubricate the same. Hard wood boiled in parailin and removed from the latter only after it has been at least partially cooled. will serve the desired end. The bearing piece 27 rests on a collar 28 fixed to the shaft and serving to support the weight of the drum.

Each drum is provided with numerous circumferential rows of picker elements. As shown in Fig. 2 the rows on one drum are displaced vertically with respect to those of the other drum, so that the plane of each row on one drum lies midway between the kplanes of tworows on the other drum. The

walls pf the slabs on the drums are made comparatlvely thin for the sake of lightness, but it is desirable that the picker element-s have long bearings and that only a small portion ocach shall project beyond its bearing. Therefore each slab 1sv providedv with registering inner and Outer bosses 29 and 30, respcctively, wherever a picker element is t0 be located.

The picker element illustrated in the draw-y ings consists of a head 31 fixed to or integral with one endof a cylindrical stem 32 having at the free end a short section 33 of reduced diameter and preferably roughened on the surface. In making the device, the head first takes the form of a cylindrical block. A hole is drilled lengthwise of the head through the end of the head, and another hole is drilled crosswise through the head near the outer end. Two deep diagonal cuts are then made through the head, 180' apart, these cuts extending through the cylindrical block and transforming it into two hooks 84 pointed at their outer ends and increasing gradually in width toward their inner ends or bases. As a matter width of the base of each hook is approximately 180. The free ends yor points 35 of the hooks are then bent inwardly somewhattoward the long axis of the device and are also bent downwardly somewhat. The downward curve of the free ends of the hooks is emphasized by cutting away the upper or outer faces.

The picking elements, which are present in large numbers in a complete machine, can be made very quickly and cheaply in the manner just described, and yet ybe very uniform in shape.

When one of these picker heads is moved against a cotton plant and is rotated in a direction tending to screw the hooked prongs into an object encountered thereby, it will be found that the end of the head acts very much as though it were a round, polished of fact, the angular knob when coming in contact with a leaf or a stem. However. when the head meets a mass of fibre protruding from the boll` it readily enters the same and takes anei'ec- Y tive grip thereon. When the picker element and the boll are moved apart. while the former is still rotating, the fibre will be pulled out from the boll. Then, when the direction of rotation of the picker element is reversed, the peculiar shape of the prongs permits the cotton to iy off readily. so that the cotton is automatically discharged by the mere act of reversing the direction lof rotation of the picker element after it has collected Vthe cotton from the plant. Consequently a cotton plant will not be injured when scanned by our improved picker heads when, for

and green leaves will not be readily picked along with the cotton fibre.

Surrounding the stem of the picker element is a sleeve 36 of such material or so designed that no oil need be applied to lubricate the bearing. Hard close grained wood, preferably boiled in paraiin will serve. There is preferably a washerlike part of felt 37 between the inner end of the head of the picker and the adjacent end of the bearing sleeve. On the end section 33 of the stem is fitted a hard sleeve 38 adapted to engage with a suitable driving member for rotating the finger. The member 38 is a tight lit on the stem, the roughness of the surface of the part 33 of the stem contributing to the tightness of the fit when the sleeve'38 is driven or pressed on. Initially the free end of the part,..33 of the stem contains a recess or depression 39, providing a comparatively thin annular flange or lip that may conveniently beV expanded, as indicated at 40, to secure a rivet effect Without requiring the element to be subjected to forces that might bend it.

T he head of the picker element is smaller in diameter than the bearing sleeve 36, and so is the sleeve 3S. Consequently each picker unit with its bearing sleeve and driving sleeve may be completely assembled and then be bodily pressed into the hole or bore 41 extending through two of the registering bosses on one of the slabs. Furthermore, since the particu-- lar picker units illust-rated are simply frictiona-lly held in the wall of the drum, any complete unit may be pushed back somewhat upon encountering an obstruction in the field, without breaking or damaging it. In other words, the friction between the sleeve and the surrounding support is suflicie-nt to hold the sleeve stationary under normal conditions, but is not great enough to resist a blow or a thrust considerably less than that required to damage the prongs on the picker finger.

The parts are so proportioned that when the picker units are assembled in the walls of the drums the heads on the picker elements project into the openings 41 far enough so that a considerable portion of each prong or hook, at the base of the latter, lies within the bore in the corresponding boss, only a portion of each prong projecting beyond the boss. Each picker element is preferably provided with means adapted to be engaged by a tool to permit the unit to be readily withdrawn any reason, this is desirable. In the arrangement show'n, there is a tapped hole 42 in the outer end of each head, in the space between the prongs. In order to remove a unit from the drum, a simple pulling tool may be screwed into the tapped hole in the outer end of that unit; the unit beingthen withdrawn by exerting a pull on the tool.

Foreign matter may enter the opening or bore 41 around the sides of the picker finger head. In order that such foreign matter may escape without entering the bearing, we provide a discharge outlet or port 43 which extends from the bore 41, at the rear end of the picker head, down through the bottom of the boss 30. Consequently, any dirt or other foreign matter that passes in behind the head will work its way out through the hole or port 43.

As best shown in Fig. 12, the bosses 30 have a more gradual slope on the advance faces than on the opposite sides, so as to eliminate any tendency to carry limbs of the cotton plant along.

The slabs may conveniently be made of such Width that each slab will carry. two picker units of each row.

The picker elements are rotated directly or indirectly from stationary members arranged in the drums, along which stationary members the picker elements must pass. In

the arrangement shown, these members consist of segments arranged in pairs lying one above the other. The uppermost segment of each pair is in approximately a horizontal plane tangent with the tops of the rollers at the inner ends of the picker elements in one of the circumferential rows, while the lower segment lies in approximately the horizontal plane tangent to the bottoms of the same rollers. The upper segments, 44, are comparatively short, while the lower segments, 45 are preferably more than 180 long. Viewed from above, the upper segments are spaced apart only a short distance from the lower segments, at one end; whereas a gap greater than the width of one of the slabs exists between the other ends of the two sets of segments. The segments are so mounted that as the drum is revolved about them, the upper set of segments and the lower set alternately engage with the driven rollers on the picker elements, causing the picker elements to be rotated alternately in opposite directions. In the zone where the wide gap occurs the picker elements are free, so that whenever a slab reaches this zone, it may be removed and replaced without otherwise changing any of the conditions in or about the drum.

It would be difficult and costly accurately to lit rigid segments and rigid rollers so as properly to operate the picker units and, for this reason, we prefer to employ segments that are flexible. The segments are mounted on what may be termed a multiple spider consisting of a series of rigid discs 46 surrounding the shaft 20 and separated from each other by suitable spacers 47. Vertical bolts 48, passing through the discs and spacers hold them together; whereas bolts or pins 49, passing through one or more spacers and through the shaft 20, secure the entire spider arrangement to the shaft. Thediscs are of such a diameter that their peripheries are spaced only a short distance from the inner ends of the picker elements; each disc being of course in the plane of a row of such elements. The upper segments lie on top of the discs and the lower segments lie against the under faces of the discs. Because of the nearness of the discs to the picker lelements, the segments need project only a short distance from the discs in order to extend into the paths of travel of the rollers on the inner ends of the picker elements.

Further rigidity is given to the supporting structure for the segments by a number of bolts 50 extending vertically through the structure, near the peripheryof the discs, so as to pass through the iiexible segments. Surrounding the bolts 50, between the discs, are spacers 51 that may assist also in holding the segments in place.

It is not suicient for the rollers on the picker elements to overlie or underlie the segmentswhile in contact therewith during their travels past the segments, but some means must be provided to press the segments and the rollers together.

In the arrangement shown there is located between the inner end of each picker element and the inner end of the corresponding picker element in the nextrow, wheel is journalled on the free end of a substantially horizontal arm 53 pivoted to the wall of the drum so as to permit the wheel to move up and down into contact with either the upper or the lower roller. The parts are so proportioned that when the inner ends of the picker elements are travelling underneath and in contact with the upper segments, as

shown in Figs. 13 and 14, they ride underneath the corresponding wheels 52 and force these wheels up into engagement with the overlying rollers. In other words, each roller will be driven through direct contact with a segmetoverlying it, and indirectly from another segment through one of the wheels 52. The action is just the same when the segments 45 come into play, except that the wheels 52 are pressed down by the segments 45, instead of up. On the inside of the cylindrical wall of the drum we place lugs or projections 18 of considerable width; the lugs alternating with the picker elements in each row. The

' purpose of these lugs is simply to prevent the segments from dropping down in the spaces between the picker elements over which they pass, and to prevent the lower set of segments from jumping up. v In other words, the advance ends of the segments are effectively guided so that no segment can thread its way over one roller and under the next. Even though the segments are flexible, there must be an elastic or yielding character throughout the entire drive for the picker elements, in order to obviate the necessity of extremely accurate machine work. To this end, the rollers 38, the segments, or the wheels 52, or more than one of these different sets of elements, must be made elastic to compensate for a wheel 52. Each.

small variations in dimensions and itions. The desired results may ordinal'il)0S be obtained by makin the wheels 52 o rubber, thus permittin t e rollers 38 to be of hard material and 't e se desirable material;

limit ourselves to t We have found that segments made of material such as employed give satisfactory results.

In addition to the wheels 52 lying between the rows of picker elements, we provide additional wheels 52a and 52" above the uppermost row of picker elements and below the lowermost row of ly. Overlying each wheel .52'L is anY idler wheel 52 and, underlying each wheel 52 is an idler 52d. An additionalr stationary segment 45*L is provided at the top-of the drum in position to enter between the wheels 52* and 52; segments 45. .At the bottom of the drum is another additional segment 44, corresponding to the segments 44, and adapted to enter between the wheels 52b and 52d.

Assuming that the machine as a whole is travelling toward the top of the sheet in Fig. 12, and that the drum is revolving in the clockwise direction, each Vpicker element will begin to rotate in a direction to pick, cotton at about the time when it ispointing straight ahead, and will continue to rotate in this direction until it has travelled with the drum through an arc of more than 180. The proper upper segment 44 then comes into play and causes the rotation of the picker to be reversed while the latter is travelling through a considerable angle; thus allowing time for the cotton to be discharged from the element. This discharged cotton, as will hereinafter be explained, collects on a conveyor that removes it to a delivery7 point.

The drums may be driven by any suitable mechanism, shaft 7 as shown in Figs. 7 to 10. Referrin ut we do not wish to to these figures, it will be seen that there is on the main shaft a loose sleeve 55 havin on one of a clutch, an on its' end one element 56 other end a bevel gear 57. Slidable on the shaft, but rotatable therewith, is a second sleeve, 58 provided with a clutch element 59 complementary to the clutch element 56. The gear wheel 57 meshes with a complementary wheel 60 fixed to a short vertical shaft 61 that is mounted in bearings 62 and 63 that require no oil to lubricate them while in service. The wearing elements of the bearin s may therefore be sleeves of wood boiled 1n paraffin or of an other material suitable for the purpose. n the shaft 61 are two sprocket wheels over which run sprocket chains 64 and 65 respectively. The sprocket chain 64 passes over a sprocket wheel 66 fixed to a vertical shaft 67 above and at some distance from the vertical axis of the drum B.

ents of any suitablepicker elements, respectivethis segment corresponding to the specific arrangement.

for rubber belting A Vus conveniently from the main drive 

